


Mortal Kombat Helped Me With My Date

by CoyoteDeLaLune



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Asking Out, Basement, Game Stop, M/M, Mortal Kombat, OC, Original Character(s), bean bag, beanbag, cheek kiss, date, gamer - Freeform, mall date, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 21:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19237000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoyoteDeLaLune/pseuds/CoyoteDeLaLune
Summary: Michael Mell doesn't know how, but he's finally going on a date with his longtime crush. But will his nerves get the better of him and how will his geekiness seal his fate?





	Mortal Kombat Helped Me With My Date

**Author's Note:**

> This work was originally written with another original character but they belong to my friend so I have edited them out. If any time before the date seems choppy, this could be why.

It was a Friday and school just got out. Michael and Jeremy were at Michael’s locker talking about a game that was said to come out within the next two years.

“Dude, they’re saying that Apocalypse of the Damned is going to be the game to beat when it comes out,” Michael said enthusiastically. 

“I know,” Jeremy exclaimed. “And the graphics are going to be a combination of retro and modern to give it a whole new look.”

They continued their conversation as they walked to the exit. The duo passed by the student lounge when Michael felt a tap on his shoulder. The boy tensed up for a second before apprehensively turning around. When he finally saw who it was, however, his muscles went lax and his eyes widened. Right in front of Michael was his crush, Atticus Griffith. He looked even more beautiful this close, with his smile and light blush and… Wait? Blush?

“Hey Michael,” Atticus greeted, his Welsh accent very prominent at that moment. “Do you think I could steal you for a second? I’d like to talk to you.”

“Of course you can,” Jeremy said before Michael could even think of what to say, having had a sudden burst of confidence. “Don’t worry Michael, I'm not in a hurry.”

Michael would have glared at him as he smirked if he wasn’t so nervous. So with one last look at his friend, Michael followed Atticus into the empty student lounge. Atticus sat on a grey suede couch and motioned for Michael to sit next to him. Michael followed his non-verbal instruction and sat down with at least a one-foot gap between them.

“You don’t have to be so stiff Michael, I don’t bite,” Atticus tried to calm the boy when he noticed his shrugged shoulders.

“Oh, right,” Michael responded before letting his shoulders fall.

Atticus gave him a smile that made the poor boy’s face turn shades darker. This caused the Welsh boy to chuckle and shake his head. “You’re too much Michael.”

“Huh?” Michael asked, very confused at his comment.

Atticus gave him an endearing smile that made his stomach do a flip. “I wanted to ask you if you were free tomorrow?”

This caught Michael off guard. “What?”

“I was wondering if you were free tomorrow?” Atticus asked, a little more uncertain this time.

“Oh,” Michael acknowledged. “Um no. Wait! I mean yes. No I mean, no I’m not busy and yes I’m free. But that’s not what you asked. I’m-”

“Michael,” Atticus put his hands on the rambling male’s shoulders. This instantly shut Michael up. His crush was touching him and he had no idea what to do. Once he seemed to calm down, Atticus removed his hands. “You don’t need to be so nervous Michael, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know,” Michael sighed. He was making an embarrassment of himself in front of his crush and he wasn’t too happy about it.

Atticus smiled at him. “Good, because I was wondering if I could take you on a date tomorrow, and I don’t want you thinking that you’re going to get hurt.”

Michael’s heart stopped. Atticus Griffith, his first and only crush, wanted to take him on a date. Michael was dumbstruck, but when Atticus gave him a questioning and concerned look he cleared his throat and attempted to speak.

“Um, ye-yeah. I’m… I’d love to.”

Michael saw the brightest smile he had ever seen stretch across Atticus’ face. “Awesome. Here, let’s exchange numbers.”

Atticus held out his phone which Michael took and replaced with his own. They both took a moment to add their contact into the other’s device before returning it to its owner. 

“Perfect,” Atticus said as he made some adjustments to Michael’s name in his phone. “How does the mall at twelve sound? We can meet at the food court for lunch and then hang out.”

“Sounds good to me,” Michael smiled, the nerves starting to melt away.

Atticus returned the smile before standing up from the couch. Michael followed his lead and they both made their way to the door of the student lounge. Once they were back in the hallway with Jeremy not too far away, Atticus turned to Michael and grabbed his hand.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Atticus smiled. He gave the red sweater-clad boy’s hand a squeeze before letting go and heading deeper into the school. 

Michael couldn’t move. He had no idea what just happened. It all occurred so fast and sudden to him. As he was standing there, staring at his hand, Jeremy came up behind him.

“What happened?” Jeremy asked, concern heavy in his voice.

“I don’t…” Michael stopped, trying to collect himself. “He just asked me on a date.”

“Dude, that’s amazing,” Jeremy wrapped his arm around Michael’s shoulder. “When’s the date?”

“Tomorrow,” Michael smiled having now gotten over his shock.

“Well, you better get home and get some rest then. Try not to stay up too late playing video games or getting high man. You don’t want to look like a walking corpse tomorrow,” Jeremy advised. “I got to go. The last bus is going to be here any minute. See you later.”

“Bye Jeremy,” Michael waved.

 

**SATURDAY 10 AM**

 

Michael was pacing around his room, nervous to no end. He was eventually able to calm himself down. After taking a stabilizing breath, Michael threw open his closet doors and started to sort through the many articles of clothing. He began to throw items onto the bed. Once he was done raiding the closet, Michael sat down beside the pile and started to go over the outfits that he had chosen.

“I don’t know about any of these,” Michael voiced his concern out loud. “They just all seem too dressy for a mall date?”

Michael thought long and hard for a second before standing up. “Wait, I think I have the perfect shirt.”

Michael rushed to his closet and started looking for something very specific in mind. When he finally emerged he was holding a navy long sleeved shirt with the colorful Atari logo and name in 8-bit on it.

“Is this a bad idea?” Michael asked himself, worried about the geekiness of the shirt. "It'll be fine."

Michael finally started to get dressed. He pulled on the Atari shirt along with a pair of extremely sun-washed black jeans with grey cuffs on the ends. He then went over to his dresser and looked over the accessories he had on top of it. When he was finished he had on his white headphones, gold [Pac-Man earrings](https://www.etsy.com/listing/683130737/pac-man-stud-earings?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_structuretest2019_e-jewelry-earrings-stud_earrings&utm_custom1=c56189f2-d07c-43b4-81e5-4670c4bb517b&utm_content=go_1730355986_69478005722_337579321578_pla-354749637791_c__683130737&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtr_mBRDeARIsALfBZA6zHKcasRUZJxYd1DQwLRgfzy_RqhtiHFcbCqBMVDE58mqYnPq7qSQaAtuAEALw_wcB), a gold [Space Invaders pendent](https://www.rachaelsudlow.com/product-page/resident-evil-umbrella-corporation-necklace), and his white basketball shoes. As Michael tied his shoes an alarm went off on his phone. His eyes widened.

“I need to get going."

Once his shoes were tied, Michael left his room and ascended the stairs back to the main level. As he passed by the kitchen one of his moms stopped him.

“Have fun at you date sweetie,” she said as she kissed her son’s head. “We’re going to be out until later tonight. Your mom’s taking me on a date.”

“Yeah, so you can bring your date over if you want. But no funny business,” his other mom said from the kitchen.

“Mama,” Michael whined, embarrassed.

The two females in the house laughed at Michael’s red face. His mama then came out of the kitchen and gave him a hug. “Have fun, Michael.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

As Michael headed to the door he said goodbye to his mothers. He then made his way down the driveway and walked down to the main street.

Michael spent the walk checking and double checking all the things he needed. Every time he put his hand into his pocket his money and phone where still there and every time he touched his hir it was still in place. Then he finally made it to the bus stop and he took a seat on the bench. As the bus pulled over to the side of the road he stood up. The bus finally finished pulling up to the stop and lowered to a height just above the curb before the doors opened. Michael stepped into the bus and once the doors closed Michael paid the bus driver. He turned down the bus and took a seat near the middle doors of the vehicle. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a second. As the bus started to move Michael put his headphones on and played Bob Marley. He checked his phone and saw that it was 11:48. Right on schedule.

 

**SMALL TIME SKIP**

 

When the bus pulled into the mall bus stop it was 11:57. Thankfully, the stop was right by the food court entrance so Michael was able to make it into the mall within two minutes. He took a second to breathe and calm his nerves before looking around for Atticus. Michael walked around the food court but couldn’t find him. He looked down at his phone to see if he got any texts and to check the time; it was 12:00.

“I’m right on time,” a voice said from right next to Michael. 

The poor boy jumped out of his skin and turned towards the voice. Standing there was a laughing Atticus with an apologetic look in his eyes. Michael started to giggle along with him. They eventually calmed down and Atticus gave him an endearing smile.

“Sorry about that Michael.”

Michael blushed slightly and returned a toothy grin. “It’s all good.”

“So, what are you going to have?” Atticus asked as he led them to the other side of the food court. “I usually get a personal pizza.”

“I normally get sushi from the Asian place right next to the pizza place,” Michael pointed out.

“Oh perfect,” Atticus beamed.

The two boys separated and waited in their respective lines. When Michael was done he looked over at the pizza line to see that Atticus wasn’t there anymore. He scanned the food court and saw Atticus waving him over. Michael smiled in acknowledgment and made his way to him. Once he got there, Michael sat in the seat across from Atticus and saw that his pizza didn’t have a single bite taken out of it.

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Michael commented, feeling a little guilty.

“Don’t feel bad Michael,” Atticus reassured him with a calm smile. “I wanted to wait.”

“Oh,” Michael blushed. “Thank you.”

Atticus smiled at the cute boy across the table. They both started to dig into their food. Atticus was about halfway done with his pizza when curiosity overtook him.

“Ok, I’ve got to ask. What are you eating?”

Michael’s eyes instantly lit up. Atticus melted on the inside at this. “This is negimaki. It’s super good. Do you want to try some?”

Atticus couldn’t say no to the bright light that seemed to beam from Michael’s eyes. “Sure. I’m curious.”

Michael picked up some negimaki with his chopsticks and reached it across the table. Atticus took the food without thinking twice about it. Michael was frozen in place, thinking that he had gone too far. But Atticus’ reaction instantly destroyed any fears he had.

“Dude, you were right. That’s really good.”

Michael smiled as he retracted his hand. They then completed their lunch in silence with a new comfortable atmosphere around them. They finished at the same time much to Michael’s surprise. In reality, Atticus didn’t want Michael to feel guilty for either making him wait or rushing him so he ate at his pace. Atticus didn’t want Michael to feel like a burden, but, if all went well, they would talk about this in their future relationship later.

“You want to walk around a little bit?” Atticus asked as he wiped his hands of pizza grease.

“Yeah,” Michael answered enthusiastically.

The two boys placed their trash onto their trays and left the table. After they threw everything away they started walking in a random direction. As they were walking, Michael felt something slip into his hand. He looked down and saw that it was another hand. He followed the person’s arm up to their face to look Atticus in the eye.

“Is this okay?” Atticus asked.

Michael nodded. “Yeah. More than okay actually.”

Atticus’ smile made Michael blush yet again. “Good.”

The two boys continued walking through the mall. They didn’t go into any stores but neither of them saw something that interested them. That was until they came across Gamestop.

“Oh hey, Michael. Do you mind if we stop in here real quick?” Atticus asked.

“Oh, of course not,” Michael answered. He was surprised that Atticus wanted to go into a gaming store but wasn’t complaining either way.

The two walked into the store and separated to look at their own leisure. Michael went to the Xbox section while Atticus went to a tiny end cap section. Michael wasn’t expecting to find anything but the second he saw the new Mortal Kombat he grabbed it off the shelf. He didn’t want to be inconsiderate, so he went to go find Atticus before buying his game. Once Michael did find his date, he was quite surprised.

“You a collector?” Michael asked for Atticus was right in front of him looking at the Game Boy games.

“Oh no,” Atticus answered, looking up for just a second. “A friend of mine actually refurbished my dad’s old Game Boy so now I’m trying to find good games for it.”

Michael's heart flipped in a way he hadn’t felt before. Atticus Griffith was a gamer. He would have never thought, and he was sure glad he found out. Michael bent down right next to Atticus and started to point out games. “I would recommend Super Mario Land, Link’s Awakening, and Metroid 2.”

Atticus was impressed and started to grab all three games. “You really know your stuff huh?”

Michael rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess. Video games are kind of my lifeblood.”

Atticus hummed in acknowledgment. “Then I think we’re going to get along a lot better than I could have ever hope for.”

Michael could have squealed at that moment. The two boys made their way to the cash register and paid for their games separately. Once they were out of Game Stop Atticus grabbed hold of Michael's hand once again.

“This might be very forward,” Michael forced his mouth to form words. “But would you maybe want to come over and play some games? I just got the new MK and I’d like to see, how well you play. If that’s okay.”

“I would love too,” Atticus proclaimed. “When did you have in mind?”

“Um,” Michael started to feel his confidence disappearing. “Now? If that’s okay with you. If not that’s totally cool.”

Atticus looked like a child on Christmas morning. “I’m free all day. Now sounds perfect.”

Michael looked up at Atticus, surprised for a second, before returning the taller boy’s smile. He dragged him through the mall and out to the mall bus stop. Luckily they would only have to wait about a minute for the next bus to arrive.

“So how far do you live?” Atticus asked, still having not let go of Michael’s hand.

“Just about a nine-minute bus ride from here,” Michael answered. 

Atticus looked down at his feet, seeming to ponder something for a moment. “Hey, Michael.”

“Yeah?” Michael turned to give the boy his full attention.

“I know it’s not over yet, but I’m really enjoying our time together. You don’t know how happy I was when you said yes to this date.”

Michael looked at Atticus for a moment. He saw a vulnerable side that wasn’t hidden but didn’t come out often. Michael couldn’t seem to do enough smiling today. “I’m having a lot of fun today too. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this to happen.”

Michael mumbled the last part but Atticus heard him anyway. “Really?”

The shorter boy sheepishly nodded his head. Atticus brought him into an unexpected, but not unwelcome, hug. Michael hugged him back almost instantly. A loud noise behind them made Michael jump in Atticus’ arms which caused the taller boy to tighten his grip on the boy. When Michael finally lifted his head he saw that the bus had arrived. He pulled out of his crush’s arms with a fury red blush. To save him anymore embarrassment, Atticus took Michael by the hand and led him onto the bus. Michael was just coordinated enough to be able to pay the driver. Then Atticus pulled him further into the bus and sat about three-fourths of the way down.

Atticus made an exaggerated motioned for Michael to get in the seat to which he fake curtsied too. After they both sat down Michael absentmindedly leaned into to the other boy. Atticus froze for a moment before relaxing.

“Is this ok?” Michael whispered.

Atticus shifted to wrap his arm around Michael’s shoulder. “Of course.”

The two sat in silence for the rest of the bus ride. Michael could have fallen asleep like that: Atticus’ arm around him, his body heat warming him up, and the light hum of the bus. It could have been better if it weren’t for the seats but to Michael it was perfect.

The bus pulled up to their stop and Michael tapped Atticus’ knee. “This is our stop.”

Atticus removed his arm from around Michael and they were both left feeling cold. They walked a little way down the bus and exited through the middle doors. Once they were off and the bus was driving away, Atticus grabbed a hold of his hand once again.

“Lead the way handsome.”

Michael laughed, embarrassed, and started to walk down the road. They were once again enveloped in silence, but neither of them would have it any other way. They got to Michael’s street and turned down it.

“Do you walk to school?” Atticus broke the silence.

“Yeah,” Michael answered. “Why?”

“I just never realized how close you lived to the school,” Atticus answered like it was obvious.

Michael hummed in acknowledgment. “Makes sense.”

A few minutes later, the two boys arrived at their destination. Michael pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. Once it was open, he held the door for Atticus as he walked in. Michael started to get nervous as he closed the door. His crush was in his house for Christ's sake and he was about to practically be in his room.

“Um, we’re going to go down there,” Michael pointed to the basement.

“Is that where your console is?” Atticus asked as he followed him down the stairs. 

“Yeah, the whole basement is basically mine,” Michael informed him as they made it to the bottom.

“Do you sleep down here?” Atticus asked, trying to hide his concern.

Michael caught onto it anyway. “Yeah, but it’s not what you think. I have a fully furnished room just over there. It was just that my moms didn’t know what to do with this space so they let me have all of it.”

“Oh, that’s pretty sweet,” Atticus commented, visibly relaxing.

Michael nodded. He then headed to his Xbox. “You still good with Mortal Kombat? We can play something else if you want.”

“No, it’s all good. I’ve actually been waiting to play the new Mortal Kombat,” Atticus smiled.

“Awesome, I'll set it up,” Michael smiled as he took the game out of its case. “You can go ahead and sit on one of those bean bags if you want.”

Atticus accepted his offer and sat in one of the bean bags. Atticus looked around a noticed a common theme. The bean bags had retro game logos and characters all over it, the walls were full of cover art and signed posters, and as he was handed a controller he saw that it had a Pac-Man wrap on it. Atticus chuckled.

“You really like video games, don’t you?”

“Well,” Michael started as he sat down in the bean bag right next to him. “Like I said, they’re my lifeline.”

The Mortal Kombat music started playing and Michael turned his attention back to the screen. He maneuvered across to the menu with his Metroid Xbox controller to select a two player game. “You ready?”

Atticus had a confident smirk on his face as he too faced the screen. “Yeah. Ready to take you down.”

“Oh-ho-ho, you’re on,” Michael put his game face on as they chose their characters. Once they both had chosen, Michael hovered his thumb over the A-button and smirked. “Good luck.”

Scorpion and Sub-Zero did their threatening intros. Michael couldn’t help but scoff at the completely unoriginal battle duo. He zeroed in on the game though when the countdown started. The second ‘FIGHT’ showed up on the screen the two boys showed no mercy. The entire time they fought only button mashing and grunts of effort could be heard in the basement. Michael and Atticus’ battle lasted to the fifth and final round. The two boys were so zoned in on the countdown, that neither of them noticed that the green light on Michael’s controller died out. So when ‘FIGHT’ appeared on the screen again, the room was filled with one additional noise: a shriek.

“NO!” Michael shouted. He looked down at his controller in a panic and saw that the battery was dead. By the time Michael looked back up at the screen ‘FINISH HIM!’ was staring him down. He could only watch as Scorpion broke Sub-Zero’s jaw, grappled him in the stomach and forehead, and threw him head first into the ground, breaking his neck. ‘T.K.O.’ “Oh come on!”

Atticus was laughing at Michael’s distress. “What happened?”

“My controller died,” Michael stood and placed his controller back in its proper place. He then plopped back down onto his beanbag. “And we’re out of batteries.”

“Hmm,” Atticus pondered. “I have an idea.”

Michael watched the screen to see what he was doing. He watched as Atticus exited to the main menu. Michael screwed his eyebrows together when he saw that he changed the player setting.

“How are we going to play a one player game?”

“You’ll see,” was Atticus’ only response. He opened to the character menu and started looking through the characters. “Who do you want to play?”

Michael thought they were going to take turns so he chose his main. “Kitana.”

Atticus nodded and selected the battle-fan welding female. He left the cursor over the option to start the battle before handing the controller to Michael.

“Thank you,” Michael said as he took the controller. He was about to start the fight when Atticus stopped him.

“Wait, I’m not done yet.”

Michael turned to give him a questioning look. But before he could he was lifted out of his beanbag and was placed in Atticus’ lap. All Michael could do was stare straight forward. He had been blushing a lot that day, but nothing could beat the amount of red that was on his face at that moment. He was stiff as a board and his mind was full of static. Atticus wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist and grabbed his hands. Michael was still not moving as Atticus removed his left hand from the controller. His hand would have fallen into his lap if Atticus hadn't had grabbed it with his right hand.

“You okay Michael?” Atticus whispered into his ear, not wanting to make his ears bleed.

“Uhm. Mhm.” was the most noise Michael could make.

Atticus chuckled in his ear then guided the controller to be a little higher. “You control the right side while I control the left side.”

“Okay,” Michael breathed out.

Atticus rested his head on Michael’s left shoulder and the poor boy could feel the other’s smirk against his cheek. Michael recovered enough to be able to start the fight. By the time the intros were over, he had relaxed into Atticus’ lap. He squeezed the taller boy’s hand and went into his gamer mode as the countdown started. Atticus leaned forward with him to get a better angle at the controller. They both had their game faces on.

Michael and Atticus defeated every character and boss the computer threw at them. The two of them were unstoppable. They played nonstop until a phone rang in between one of the fights.

“Oh that’s mine,” Atticus said as he let go of the controller to grab his phone. “Oh shoot, it’s already 5:00? I should get going.”

“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to kidnap you for so long,” Michael giggled.

“It’s all good Michael,” Atticus said as he removed the controller from Michael’s hand. He then placed his hand on the smaller boy’s back. “You need to get up Michael.”

Michael groaned in an overextended manor. “Fine.”

He stood up but refused to let go of Atticus’ right hand. It was a little awkward but he was able to pull him up. Michael may have pulled too hard because after Atticus jumped out of the bean bag, he ran into the shorter geek. He grabbed onto Michael so he wouldn’t go tumbling to the ground. After the surprise wore off they both burst into laughter. They detangled themselves and headed up the stairs. Once they got to the front door, Michael stood in front of it.

“Hey, I had a lot of fun today,” Michael said as he felt confidence build up inside of him.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Atticus beamed. “I did too.”

Michael returned a smile. He turned around and opened the door for his not-so-secret crush. They shared a hug that made both of them melt before Atticus stepped out the door. He had only traveled a few steps when Michael called from behind him.

“Wait, Atticus,” Michael ran up to him, his confidence had built up and he was going to act before it went away. “I was hoping we could do this again sometime?”

Atticus gave him an adorable toothy smile. “I’d love that.”

“Yay,” Michael exclaimed and, in the heat of the moment, placed a kiss on Atticus’ cheek. “See you on Monday.”

For once Atticus was the speechless one as he watched Michael rush back into his house. He placed a hand on his cheek where the kiss was placed. He started to smile like a lovesick fangirl. That smile didn’t leave his face even as he made his way down the driveway. Meanwhile, Michael was leaning against the other side of the front door. He was blushing like a trumpet player playing at fortissimo. But even as he covered his face, Michael couldn’t stop a matching smile from covering his face. Both boys hoped this feeling would last forever, and they would quickly find out that it would.


End file.
